BREAKING NEWS: Production of TSMC 3nm M2 Pro Chip for MacBook Pro will later in 2022! 

TSMC will start mass-producing chips using its leading-edge N3 (3nm-class) manufacturing process in September 2022. The news comes from a Commercial Times report that cites equipment manufacturers. According to it, the contract chipmaker will deliver the first products made using its N3 node to its customers early in 2023!  

The TSMC 3nm M2 Pro Chips 

According to the report, TSMC will begin the production of 3nm chips for Apple by the end of 2022. However, a separate report from the publication claimed that TSMC will begin the mass production of 3nm chips in September 2022.   

Usually, TSMC commences its high-volume manufacturing or HVM of a new mode between March and May. It does so to garner enough time for producing enough chips for Apple’s latest iPhones, which will generally launch in the month of September. However, the development of TSMC’s N3 node took longer than usual. As a result, Apple’s upcoming smartphone chips will use a different node this time.   

Contrastingly, the first 3nm chips from TSMC will reach the HVM milestone only in September. This results later as compared to what TSMC originally promised (a couple of months delay versus typical schedules). Still, the company will meet its goal of starting N3 production in the second half of the year.  

Will it be used this year? 

Further according to the report, the M2 Pro chip may be the first to use TSMC’s advanced nm process. Moreover, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman’s previous claim states that Apple plans to use the M2 Pro chip for its upcoming 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models and a high-end Mac mini, which could be announced later this year or in the first half of next year.  

Essentially, Apple’s A17 Bionic chip for 2023’s iPhone 15 Pro models as well as the M3 chip will be manufactured based on the TSMC’s 3nm process. The Commercial Times confirmed this claim. To begin with, Apple products transitioning from TSMC’s 5nm process to 3nm process would result in faster performance. It will also enable an improved power efficiency for future Macs and iPhones, which could contribute to longer battery life. Apple has nearly finished its two-year transition away from Intel processors in the Mac. However, only the high-end Mac mini and the Mac Pro tower have yet to switch over to Apple silicon chips.  

Anwesha Mishra

Anwesha has been a creative writer for a while. Currently, on her pursuit of tech writing, she is diving into the realms of technology to produce better content on the forever-changing world of technology. In her free time, you’ll find her humming tunes of her favourite shows or reading a book.